Explanation of the above Dancing Vanetsis video

2-minute 1946 documentary film by Antranig (Andy) Shahinian (age 28) of exuberant folk dancing of immigrant Armenian men from the Armenian city of Van, at the annual meeting of their organization of Armenians form Van, made on a nice spring day, in his backyard at 2017 Muliner Ave, Bronx, New York, with a 16 mm box-type movie camera (bought for $15).

The dancers are:

Levon Kazanjian (curly hair, unbuttoned suit jacket, thin, short, the eldest-age 75) dancing with friends from Van, generally has the lead as they gave a lot of respect to him, for his age,

Vagharshag Shahinian (Andy’s dad, wearing suspenders and on the observers’ right of Levon Kazanjian in the first dance),

Aram Arsenian (full of fun, first seen lying down, white shirt, spotted tie, white shoes, great dancer, Andy’s maternal cousin, whose (great?) grandfather in the Armenian city of Van, built in 1790 Soorp Boghos Bedros Church-St. Peter & Paul- which was destroyed in 1915 as part of the Ottoman Turkish Genocide of its Armenian subjects, along with the entire city of Van),

Man in dark suit with tie or shirt showing at his waist danced near beginning, not at end. Who?

The dance scene starts with Aram on the ground. (The earlier shots are from another event)

Andy (or his mother Shoushanig -Arsenian- Tuhafjian Shahinian) was singing folk songs of Van (“Vanetsi” songs) to which the men were dancing. The first dance is a Shoorj Bar (round dance)”. The second dance (slow) is “Dal Dalla” in 5/8 time. The last (fast) dance is “Papori” .

We made a tape in 2002 of Andy singing and explaining these songs, to be put on this website later.

This video was received by a grandchild (one of four granddaughters and two grandsons) of Levon Kazanjian (1870, Van-1950 Boston): Armena Marderosian, in May 2002 from Antranig (Andy) Shahinian. Andy’s family was also from Van, Armenia and they were friends with Van immigrants Levon and Prapion Shakarian Kazanjian (1880-1950).

Levon Kazanjian was born in Van, Armenia in 1868, and died in Boston in 1951. His wife, Prapion Shakarian, was born in Van in 1876, and died in Boston in 1950. Levon first came to Boston in 1891, before the 1894-96 massacres of Armenians ordered by the Ottoman Turkish ruler Abdul Hamid II. Levon went back and forth to Van, finally moved to Boston with his family, ca. 1905. Levon Kazanjian had medical training and was employed as a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital. He was called “Doctor Kazanjian” by the Armenians for his medical knowledge and for helping the community. He was also a writer. Levon Kazanjian wrote in Armenian a book about the cultural life of the city of Van, Armenia, “Renaissance: Van-Vaspooragan (1850-1950) Cultural Golden Age”, published in Boston in 1950, called “Veratsnoond: Van Vaspooragan (1850-1950) Mshakootayeen Voskedar”. It includes cultural history of the Van region of Historic Armenia (eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus mostly,(areas now in Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, and Iran) short essays about various notable cultural figures and their patriotic activities. In 2003, Arra Avakian has translated this book into English. We plan to add it to this website.

Levon Kazanjian also made an Armenian translation of “Microbe Hunters”, a very popular 1926 science book about microbiology and medicine (germ theory) written by scientist Paul de Kruif (Harcourt and Brace). We wonder who might have a copy of Levon’s translation of this book which we don’t have. Levon Kazanjian, living in Boston, wrote regularly for Armenian newspapers, including for Lraper (of the Harachdemagan Armenian political party, pro-Soviet Armenia), and probably for Baikar newspaper (also pro-Armenia). (Another Levon Kazanjian, unrelated, younger, also wrote for these periodicals from Philadelphia. He was the husband of Siran Suni Kazanjian, who was Grikor Mirzaian Suni’s eldest daughter.) Our Boston Levon Kazanjian also wrote for Varak, a Vanetsi periodical named after the monastery Varakavank on the island of Akhtamar in Lake Van. The famous Armenian priest/leader Khrimian Hairig had his headquarters at that monastery in the late 1800’s when Armenians were starting to resist the Ottoman oppression.

Levon and Prapion had five children: Van, Vanouhi, Vartan, Vahe, and Vartouhi, all “V” names, named after their ancestral city of Van. They had six grandchildren: two girls and a boy each from Vanouhi and from Vartan.